It’s been a month since that whole mess with Mr. Long’s demon in Chinatown. The city feels the same, but I ain’t the same. After we wrapped up, I didn’t just sit on my hands. There’s no rest for guys like me.

Spent most nights hitting the gym harder than usual. Working on speed, strength, and timing  stuff I know I’ll need if things go sideways again. The ritual sword and those coin amulets taught me one thing: you can’t rely on luck. Gotta be ready, every minute.

Called in a few favors too. Got my hands on some more gear, better weapons, and a couple of contacts in Chinatown who owe me one. If anything weird shows up, I want to be the first to know.

Worked extra shifts at the dump to keep the money flowing. Family still comes first, no matter what’s going on with the contracts. My wife keeps the house running, and I try to be there for the kids whenever I can. Balancing this life isn’t easy, but it’s the one I chose.

Thought about the Oath I tried to make with Love and Aurel. Still bugs me that they said no. Trust means everything in this game. Next time, I’ll make sure they don’t get a choice.

So yeah, a month of sweat, planning, and keeping my head down. But I’m ready. Whatever comes next, I’ll face it head-on. No surprises

Ion moves her hands holding them in front of the screen, so her teacher can see.

"Good. But a little too much rotation." The woman on the screen corrects Ion.

A flash of anger. Then depression.

Ion's light flickers bright, then dims. 

Her hand moves. She can feel the comprehending happening. She is learning quickly. Way too quickly.

Proof that whatever change made her a bomb was changing her in other ways. She was learning faster.  Healing a little faster soon. Back to 100% after a month. 

Fucking lucky that I am. I'd go even more insane if I couldn't talk to anyone 

It was two weeks, and still the only way Ion could speak was with her hands. It ... wasn't a bad way to speak. It was... fun to learn actually. 

But she missed her voice. 

She had given up so much already. Almost everything she was. She didn't want to lose that too.

Ugh, the whole thing is like. A month away? There's so much more shit to figure out.

Drawing's been gettin' better. Looking out the window... the snowscape is nice, I guess. Not a lot of variance... but it's kinda fun.

I've settled on the missing farmer argument probably. Body hasn't been found, 2 kids haven't either, yada yada.

Verglas keeps working me to death. Every week he comes in with yet another legal case that has impossible, supernatural factors regardin' em.

I just need to catch a break, man.

If I could just get more money, then I could make it up for those families and then maybe earn myself enough brownie points to...

I'm never going back, but... if I do, I wanna be ready.

Jesus, what are you talkin' about Kaneko?

You'll be fineee... just focus on what you do best.

You got this, man. You got this.

Pal get's back home after about a week. 

He text's Wren around 11 pm.

"Should be getting back home in the morning. Catching a late flight. Will need to do laundry pretty badly."

"Looking forward to seeing you again! But like. You don't need to see me immediately or anything. Know you have your own life."

"But. Looking forward to seeing you."

Unifel —

Me too! I'll make my way over. Safe flight.

RNG — 

Pal grins down at his phone.

He considers saying something else.

Instead he makes his way to the airport, boards his flight, and sleeps the full length of the flight.

He gets home at around 2 am. He is wearing a white tshirt that fits his frame tightly, and black sweatpants. New clothes. They don't looks expensive. Or nice. 

He does his best to enter the apartment quietly

Unifel —

Wren isn't at the door, but that's usual.

RNG — 

Pal opens and closes the door quietly.

He knows the Wren doesn't sleep.

But it's still good to be quiet just in case. 

Pal makes his way to his bathroom, the one with the laundry built in.

Unifel —

He can hear a quiet humming coming from it as he gets closer. Movement.

RNG — 

He pauses. 

"Hey sunshine! I'm home. Going to start a load, and take a shower. Then we can catch up maybe?"

Unifel —

How loud does he say that?

RNG —

At a normal volume. He doesn't want to accidentally wake a neighbor

Unifel — 

Cute! He's so good.

There's no response.

RNG — 

Pal shrugs. He heads into the bathroom.

Unifel — 

Wren is in there, with headphones on, humming as she pulls clothes out of the dryer. She was... She did Pal's laundry.

RNG — 

Pal blinks several times. 

He puts his bag down.

For a moment he considers hugging her from behind. Picking her up, kissing her neck.... 

Then the thinks about his instinctive responses to surprises.

Don't really want to need to fix my nose tonight.

He moves into the room, getting into Wren's line of sight. 

He looks at her with a soft look.

Wren smiles brightly, and pulls off her headphones.

"Hey! I wanted you to be able to get some rest, so I took care of the laundry for you. How'd it go?"

RNG — 

Pal shrugs. (fond. protective.)

"It was fine. I was mostly worried about the clothes I brought with me though." (True)

Pal grins. 

"You are so sweet. Can I kiss you?" (Happy. Fond. Relieved) 

Unifel —

"Please!"

She leans forward, one of her fangs poking out between her smile as she closes her eyes.

Image

RNG — 

Pal leans forward and kisses her, lightly holding Wren's waist as he pulls her closer. 

He smells sweaty, and a bit dirty. Long job. His mouth is still a little too minty.

He pulls back. (blissful. happy. safe)

"I need  to shower. Also I probably need to start a load. Got a lot of blood on my clothes. Then yes. Bed time." 

Unifel —

She makes a quiet mmmm sound, content in the kiss.

Then she smiles mischievously.

"Do you... need any help? With relaxing? And cleaning up?"

RNG — 

Pal blinks. (Surprised) 

Then grins. (Happy, a little aroused. Regret)

"I am uh.... probably not in the shape for... activities. But... we can cuddle. Shower together if you want."

Pal starts un packing his back. In a collection of large ziplock bags, he has several piece of clothing. The clothes he left in, and most of Moonstone's outfit.

It has several huge holes in it, and is covered in blood.

As he unzips and throws the clothes in the washer (Carefully detaching the moonstones from Moonstone's uniform), the room is filled with the smell of blood.

Unifel —

Wren's breath catches, and she licks her lips.

"Oh my god."

Unifel —

Image

RNG — 

Pal blinks. (A slight guilt. embarrassed)

"Oh! Yeah, I almost got cut in half." 

He slides his shirt off. Wren can see 3 lines of black outlining large swaths of Pal's skin. With how Pal's healing works, you know that he probably lost most of his guts. or Her guts. 

And was probably impaled.

He tosses the shirt in the washer.

Unifel —

Her face looks at the scars.

"You what?"

RNG —

Pal nods. (Embarrassed)

"Yeah, there were like. These swords, and people were good with them, and they cut me a lot. I didn't like... go down or anything. But yeah, I got cut pretty bad. "

Pal grins sheepishly. 

"Flew back after. I could have had people help, but one of them was a kid, and I kind of... Thought I could handle it?"

"Anyway, mostly was solved after that. I also had a whole aerial battle. That was cool. But yeah, was laid out after it for a bit." 

Pal rubs the back of his head, and keeps working on taking off the moonstones. (Embarrassed, a little worried and guilty)

"But I'm fine now! I can recover pretty quick nowadays."

Wren gently puts a cold hand on his shoulder.

"You need to remember you matter too. Was this kid a contractor? You need to let your team help you. You need to-"

She pauses. Her voice steady, she continues after a moment.

"You need to come home to me."

RNG —

(intense guilt)

"I.... Yeah. I will."

Pal moves his hands up to hold Wren's hand.

"I promise. I'll come home...."

He leans down and presses his forehead to Wren's

Unifel —

She holds him, tightly.

"Speaking of coming home, I... Will you move in with me?"

RNG — 

(Surprise. Mirth) 

"Oh? Like Seattle?"

Pal pauses. (Contemplative. Loved. Fond. Protective)

"Oh, that would be a lot closer to Ems anyway. And since I can't really work much anymore... yeah, that sounds great."

Unifel —

She lights up, and squeezes even tighter.

"Okay! That's great! Let me get you cleaned up, and we'll set it up."

She lets go and starts helping with the clothes.

"You take a seat, my light. Rest."

RNG — 

Pal kisses Wren's forehead, then her nose, before putting a light kiss on her lips.

"You are so good to me."

Then he goes and takes a shower. A long shower.

The Eschatology job left a mark deeper than any wound. It wasn’t just the bruises or the sleepless nights afterward — it was the weight that settled heavy on my chest. A quiet kind of pressure that doesn’t go away, no matter how much I try to drown it in whiskey or distraction.

I kept to myself for a long time after that. Not because I wanted to, but because I needed space to figure out who I am now, who I’m becoming. The city’s always loud, but I found myself searching for silence — the kind you only get when you run the streets at 3 a.m. or shoot practice rounds into an empty lot under a flickering streetlamp.

Every day, I pushed harder. Early mornings spent running until my legs burned, evenings honing my aim, learning to reload faster, thinking about how I could survive the next contract. This life isn’t for the weak or slow — it demands everything. You learn that quick.

The work changes you. You cross lines you never thought you would, see things that haunt your dreams. Sometimes I wonder if I’m still the same Rocco Marino who just wanted a quiet life with his family, a man who drove a garbage truck and kept his head down.

But that man’s gone. Replaced by someone who’s had to get sharper, colder, ready for anything. The Eschatology dust has settled, sure — but inside me, the fight is far from over. I’m still standing, still moving forward. No turning back now.

After Chile, things didn’t go back to normal. I kept wakin’ up sweaty, thinkin’ I heard that clicking sound. I started runnin’ in the mornings—me, Rocky Marino, runnin’ like some gym rat. My hands wouldn’t stop shakin’ unless they were holdin’ somethin’. A wrench, a bat, a pistol—didn’t matter. I needed to be ready.

I practiced reloading. Fast. Blind. While makin’ dinner. Eddie would’ve laughed. Elijah probably already knew how. Anderson… he wouldn’t have said nothin’.

I got better. Sharper. More aware of where the exits were, how people move when they’re about to snap. I learned how to duck before fists flew, how to watch shadows before they moved. That Talent guy, he wasn’t wrong—I am gettin’ better. Different, too. Not all of it feels good.

The city feels louder now. Brighter. Like it’s tryin’ to distract me from what’s underneath.

But I see it. I see it all.

And I ain’t lookin’ away no more.

Dear Diary...

Further improvements to the travel plaza. It still takes a minute to travel anywhere, but by implementing some improvements to the staff of the cartography room, I've reduced the time between trips from an hour to just over a minute.  I've also made some other small changes that eliminate the sleepiness after using it, which, despite feeling appropriate for entering the Dreamlands, was.. kind of an issue for a Contractor sometimes.

I think I could make some further improvements - maybe pre-filled forms so it's less work to  go though it from the Dreamlands side?  or I'm sure I could make the pathfinding faster by adding scout stations or such.. but that seems like a lot of work, and I'm not necessarily sure it's worth it.  At least, not necessarily to shave that much time off.  Well.. maybe down from a minute might be worth it.  But I should practice my reality warping, too..

Dear Diary...

Well.  A lot has happened over the last couple of weeks!

Ever since the old King of Dreams ceded his crown entirely to me, and now... well, it's been a lot.  I've gained a lot more control over the Dreamlands - I might even be able to traverse it without a Map - although I certainly don't want to go wandering into the wildernesses for days on end alone.  But I've been able to sketch out maps that are a lot more stable.  And are... almost.. waypoint maps, really?   I think I can even make paths where others can follow.  And even head to other places.

I think if I appoint someone in the cartography room to write a map wherever someone wants to go... I could conceivably go anywhere.  Just with a little bit of forewarning. 

Takes about a minute for them to sketch the map out, but I think they're still putting too much detail into it...

Dear Diary...

Apparently Lanie was being harassed by a Harbinger.  She asked for help.

I showed up.  Even if the way I did was a little.. unconventional.  I had thought about it in geography class a few weeks ago, but I'd... kind of you know, been meaning to maybe at least practice it before doing it live.

But in a pinch, I did.  I used it.  I got that blanket of travel out that the Goddess had given to me for safe keeping, and I travelled into the sky.  And fell down on top of  where Lanie needed help.

Paratrooper fox, here.

But it worked out!  I showed up, and there was a bit of a disagreement with them and stuff, and.. well, I saw a list of contractors that he harbinger had.  Which was kind of cool.  I knew a lot of the names on it.. but not all of them.